27,010 Shares in MetLife, Inc. $MET Purchased by Cetera Trust Company N.A

Cetera Trust Company N.A bought a new stake in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 27,010 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,285,000. MetLife comprises approximately 1.1% of Cetera Trust Company N.A’s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of MET. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of MetLife in the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Activest Wealth Management increased its stake in MetLife by 205.8% during the 4th quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 315 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 212 shares during the period. Burk Holdings LLC purchased a new stake in MetLife during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Garton & Associates Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in MetLife during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Gunpowder Capital Management LLC dba Oliver Wealth Management purchased a new position in MetLife in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. 94.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

MetLife Price Performance

Shares of MET opened at $96.20 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $61.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.43, a PEG ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 0.78. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $92.58 and its 200-day simple moving average is $82.32. MetLife, Inc. has a twelve month low of $67.33 and a twelve month high of $100.93. The company has a current ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 0.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The financial services provider reported $2.43 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.30 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $13.52 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $19.67 billion. MetLife had a net margin of 4.57% and a return on equity of 23.39%. The company’s revenue was up 10.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.02 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MetLife announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, August 5th that allows the company to buyback $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to reacquire up to 4.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 8th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.5925 per share. This represents a $2.37 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 4th. MetLife’s payout ratio is 45.40%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on MET shares. Barclays upped their price objective on MetLife from $94.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on MetLife from $101.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. Atlantic Securities set a $103.00 price target on MetLife in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Mizuho increased their price target on MetLife from $95.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on MetLife from $86.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $102.21.

MetLife Company Profile

MetLife, Inc is a global provider of insurance, annuities and employee benefit programs. Headquartered in New York City, the company offers a range of risk protection and retirement solutions to individuals, employers and institutional clients. Its core businesses include life insurance, group benefits, retirement products such as annuities, and supplemental health products including dental and disability coverage.

In addition to traditional life and group insurance, MetLife provides workplace benefits and voluntary products distributed through employer-sponsored programs.